About 20 percent of all newborns will develop colic, according to the medical advisory board at BabyCenter.com. These colicky newborns often cause a great deal of stress and worry for their new parents. However, parents who take the time to learn the facts about babies with colic will better understand this condition and how to manage it.
Signs
A newborn with colic will often display three main signs of colic, according to the Mayo Clinic. The newborn will have a pattern to crying episodes. For example, parents may notice their newborn is generally content during the morning, but starts crying almost every day right before dinner. Also, the crying episodes are intense and the newborn is extremely difficult to soothe. The newborn's face will often turn red and his cries will typically be very high-pitched. Finally, a newborn with colic will often change his posture during a crying jag. He may bring his legs up to his belly, clench his fists and generally seem rigid and tense.
Time Frame
A newborn baby with colic will typically start showing signs of colic within a few weeks after birth. Doctors consider a newborn to have colic if the newborn cries for three hours a day, three days a week, for a period of three weeks, explains the American Academy of Family Physicians. The colicky behavior typically begins to resolve itself when the infant is approximately 3 months old.
Remedies
Learning ways to comfort a colicky newborn is usually a main priority for new parents. Although many things may soothe a crying infant, parents will have to adopt a trial-and-error approach to discover which one will work the best for their colicky baby. Swaddling, sucking on a pacifier, mechanical swings, taking a ride in a stroller or car, infant massages and loud white noise from things like a loud fan, hairdryer or washing machine may provide immediate comfort to an unhappy baby. In addition, things like feeding more frequently, keeping the baby upright during feedings and preventing anyone from smoking around the newborn may ease the colic over time, according to the University of Michigan Health Systems. Changing the baby's formula or changing the diet of the breastfeeding mother might also help, but parents should always talk to a pediatrician before doing so.
Misconceptions
Although theories about the causes of colic abound, no research has proven that colic occurs based upon gender, birth order or whether the newborn is breastfed or formula-fed. The only risk factor that has been clinically proven is the fact that women who smoked while they were pregnant or after delivery are twice as likely to have babies with colic, according to the medical advisory board of BabyCenter.com. In addition, it is not true that a newborn with colic is trying to manipulate her parents by crying or that holding a baby too often as a newborn will "spoil" the baby.
Warning
All parents concerned about the newborn's crying should contact a doctor. While it's true that there is no cure for colic and it is often necessary just to wait it out, it should always be ruled out that the crying is due to colic and does not have a more sinister medical cause.
